Video or television type programming is an extremely popular form of entertainment as well as a medium for distribution of news and other information. Video programming includes images, typically representing real-time variable or moving imagery, usually with associated audio information. TV viewing of such material has become ubiquitous throughout the United States and much of the rest of the world. Distribution technology is rapidly evolving from analog over-the-air broadcasts to digital technologies using satellite or optical fiber communications.
Conventional transmission facilities continually broadcast the video material on a given channel. In digital networks, for example, customer premises equipment or network switching equipment allows subscribers to select video programs from a set of broadcast program materials. Once selected, a decoder receives the data stream of video material in a continuous downstream data feed and processes the data feed for presentation of the video program to the viewer via a television set or monitor. In broadcast systems, video on demand (VOD) and pay-per-view (PPV) services permit users to select a broadcast channel transmitting a movie or other program material for viewing at a time of the user's choice. The program is selected at the viewer's home, and the program is received at a designated, scheduled time.
Video recorders were developed to provide viewers with increased flexibility, for example, to record a broadcast program for later viewing (time shifting) or to record and keep a copy of a favored program (archival recording). Consumer devices for video recording have evolved from the analog video cassette recorder or “VCR” that utilizes magnetic tape to digital video recorders or “DVRs” that utilize hard disk drives, optical disks or the like. In addition to traditional programmed recording of selected video materials, a DVR, also sometimes referred to as a “personal video recorder” or “PVR,” offers enhanced capabilities of “pausing,” “rewinding” and “fast-forwarding” live television (TV) broadcast while it is being recorded. Examples of such devices include TiVo and ReplayTV.
Situations occur when events at the customer premises may interrupt video service. For example, when the commercial power to the premises goes out, the video equipment can no longer provide television viewing to the customers at the effected location(s). Existing analog and digital recording devices can not address this issue, as they typically suffer the same cause(s) of service interruption.
Recently, there have been proposals to utilize network servers to record video information, in a manner so as to offer digital recording as a service to network customers. Such systems, sometimes referred to as “network personal video recorders” or “NPVRs,” offer capabilities very similar to DVRs or PVRs but without the requirement for each user to purchase and install a recording device of their own within the customer premises. Examples of NPVRs or similar server implemented video recording services are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,611,654, and in US Patent Application Publications Nos. 2003/0192054, 2005/0120377, 2005/0144640. Although server-centric recording equipment would typically not be subject to localized events causing video service interruptions at individual customer premises, such as power outages, proposals for this type of service have not addressed problems caused by localized service interruptions.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,829,781 discloses a technique for creating summaries of broadcast programming, either in a set-top box at the customer premises or in a server in a data communication network. Of note, one use of the summary functions is to provide a viewer a summary of a program, when viewing of the program is interrupted. However, the summary service is driven by user inputs. For example, the user must interact with the set-top box or the server to request creation of a summary of a program, viewing of which will be interrupted, while the user is absent from the television receiver. The viewer must request the summary creation prior to the interruption. The viewer has the option to view the summary or return to the program channel, when the viewer returns to the television receiver. This approach records a summary in the form of audio, still images and possible segments of the video imagery, but it apparently does not record the actual video program. Also, by requiring the user to initiate the creation of the summary, this approach can not automatically detect service interruptions and can not address issues related to power or other unexpected localized interruptions of video service at or within the premises. If video service is out, with respect to the set-top box and/or the user's television, e.g. due to a power outage, the user can not interact with the service to request creation of the summary.
Hence a need exists for a system and methodology to provide a video recording service, to automatically provide a replay from an appropriate point interrupted programming, in response to localized service interruptions, such as may be caused by power outages.